York, Kittery mosquito pools test positive for EEE: West Nile Virus also found in Maine pool

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

AUGUSTA, Maine — Mosquitoes in York, Kittery and Alfred have tested positive for Triple E while a separate mosquito test in Alfred indicated West Nile Virus, health officials said Monday.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry announcement reported an additional 13 mosquito pools in Southern Maine have tested positive for the presence of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), many of these from locations with previous positives documenting continued risk of infection.

This brings the total of mosquito pools that have tested positive for EEE to 21 in 2013. In addition, Maine CDC has reported the death of a pheasant in York County. Last week, two horses died from EEE, one in Oxford County and one in York County.

Additionally, one mosquito pool tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV), the first WNV positive this year. This pool was collected from Alfred in York County.

“The fact that we now have pools testing positive for EEE and WNV only increases the need for prevention,” said Dr. Stephen Sears, state epidemiologist. Maine had its first confirmed human case of WNV last year.

EEE is a virus that is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. It can cause serious illness in humans, large animals like horses and some species of birds. Maine confirmed EEE in a flock of pheasants during 2012 and experienced unprecedented EEE activity during 2009 with multiple animals and mosquito pools testing positive for the virus.